USS De Soto (1859)

For other ships with the same name, see USS De Soto.

A black-and-white lithograph of the steamship USS De Soto, anchored in the harbor of Ponce, Puerto Rico. De Soto is in the foreground, facing left. De Soto is painted black or a very dark color, with the exception of her upper sidewheel guard which is white or very light in color. The ship has fine sweeping lines, a neatly rounded stern and slight clipper bow. She has two square-rigged masts with no sails, a tall, slim, raking smokestack amidships, just forward of the paddlewheels, and no apparent superstructure apart from what looks like temporarily rigged awnings on the main deck. The ship's walking beam engine can clearly be seen rising between the paddlewheels. In the distance are three sailing ships, one with a military appearance, and behind them two rounded, tree-covered hills which look almost uninhabited.
USS De Soto in the harbor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, in 1868. The original print is mounted on a carte de visite.
History
United States
NameSS De Soto
NamesakeHernando De Soto (1496-1524), Spanish explorer and conquistador
OwnerLivingston, Crocheron & Co.
Port of registryUnited States
RouteNew York–Havana–New Orleans
BuilderLawrence & Foulks (New York City)
Launched25 June 1859
Completed1859
In serviceAugust 1859?
Out of service12 August 1861
FateSold to U.S. Navy, 12 August 1861
United States
NameUSS De Soto
AcquiredPurchased 21 August 1861
Commissioned
  • 1861 – 16 Jun 1864
  • 12 Aug 1865 – 11 Sep 1868
FateSold 30 September 1868
United States
NameSS De Soto
OwnerLivingston, Fox & Co.
Port of registryUnited States
RouteNew York–Havana–New Orleans
AcquiredPurchased from U.S. Navy 30 September 1868
In service1868
Out of service31 December 1870
FateDestroyed by fire 31 December 1870
General characteristics
Displacement1,675 tons
Length253 ft (77 m)
Beam38 ft (12 m)
Draught16 ft (4.9 m)
Propulsion
  • 1 × vertical beam (65 in × 11 ft)
  • 2 × 30-ft diameter sidewheels; auxiliary sails
Speed14 mph (12 knots) in favorable conditions
Complement130
Armament

USS De Soto was a fast wooden-hulled sidewheel steamship that saw service as a U.S. Navy gunboat during the American Civil War.

De Soto was originally a privately owned vessel, built for passenger service between New York and New Orleans. With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, she was purchased by the Navy, commissioned as USS De Soto, and sent to assist with the blockade of Confederate ports. De Soto's speed made her an effective pursuit ship, and she would capture or bring about the destruction of a total of eighteen blockade runners during the war.

In the postwar period, De Soto continued to serve with the Navy, mostly in South American waters, until resold to her original owners in 1868 for resumption of service as a passenger ship. She caught fire and was burned to the waterline in December 1870.

  1. ^ Heyl, p. 129.